About your account
Fees and charges for 2011/12
When councils collected water and sewerage fees as part of council rates, there were around 150 different prices being paid by customers in the southern region.
Because there is a gradual transition from the old council charges to the new target prices, the charges on your bill may be different from the charges other customers are receiving. If you would like an explanation of the charges on your account, please contact our Customer Service Centre on 13 MYWATER (13 6992).
Who pays?
Southern Water is required by law to send the water and sewerage account to the property owner. This means we cannot send the bills directly to residential tenants. If you are the property owner, you are responsible for ensuring that the account is paid in full.
Under the Residential Tenancy Act 1997, property owners cannot pass any part of the water and sewerage account to tenants for payment, unless there is a device installed (such as a water meter) at each dwelling to calculate water usage.
This means that when customers are charged for their water in two parts – the water service charge must always be paid by the property owner and the water usage charge can only be passed on to tenants if there is a sub meter or some other device to measure each dwelling’s water usage in place. The residential tenancy agreement should also make reference to any intention of passing water and sewerage accounts on.
*This information has been taken from the Residential Tenancy Act 1997 and the Office of Consumer Affairs and Fair Trading’s “The Rental Guide”, available online at http://www.consumer.tas.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/123748/Rental_guide_WEB.pdf
Paying your account
- For information on the ways in which you can pay your account, please click here.
- If your account is in arrears or if you are not able to pay your account in full by the due date, please contact us on 13 MYWATER (13 6992) to discuss a flexible payment plan which allows you to pay your account in instalments that you can manage. Please talk to us before your account becomes overdue.
- For customers in financial hardship, please click here for information on our Customer Assistance Program.
What does my water and sewerage account pay for?
The money we receive from customers is used to maintain and develop all the water and sewerage assets around the southern part of the State. This includes the provision and maintenance of dams and reservoirs, water treatment plants, sewerage treatment plants and water and sewerage pipes.
Our Price & Service Plan for 2012 - 2015
Southern Water has submitted our Price and Service Plan for the three year period commencing 1 July 2012 to the Tasmanian Economic Regulator.
The Regulator will undertake an independent review of Southern Water’s Price and Service Plan. For more information on the Price & Service Plan 2012-15 click here.